This invention relates generally to telecommunications devices and more particularly concerns emergency telecommunications devices for the disabled.
Approximately 22 million Americans have some type of hearing impairment. An additional 3 million persons are speech impaired. Still, only 200,000 Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDDs) are in use. Inherent technological, economic and physical limitations have severely limited the dissemination, availability and use of TDDs by the general public, public businesses and prospective employers. The initial expense and the costs of repair are high. The requirement for mirror facilities (identical or mutually compatible transmission and reception facilities) also limits the use of TDDs to the impaired community. Furthermore, the electronics of a TDD use the Baudot communications format which was originally developed for mechanical teletypewriters and is inadequate for present-day communications. Moreover, Baudot is generally incompatible with other systems.
An alternative to the TDD is the modem-equipped personal computer (PC/M), which uses the much faster ASCII communications format. PC/Ms have enjoyed a much wider distribution than TDD's due to their versatility, which to some degree offsets their much higher cost. Nevertheless, like the TDD, the PC/M requires mirror facilities, awkward startup protocols and highly specialized and expensive maintenance costs.
TDDs and PC/Ms are mutually incompatible and are nearly useless in a public access situation. Normal use by the general public exposes a TDD, PC/M or similar device, to extraordinary wear and tear. Furthermore, if the device is not armored, it becomes a target for vandalism or theft.
Building owners and elevator manufacturers have avoided placing either TDDs or computers in elevators to aid communications with the disabled due to initial expense, the cost of installing this equipment, the maintenance requirements, and the difficulty of mounting a typewriter-keyboard at a convenient height in the elevator. In addition, building owners face the expense of providing compatible systems at several locations within the building, i.e., in the lobby for emergency personnel, in the maintenance office and in the managers office. Despite the cost involved, however, all of the 500,000 public elevators located in the U.S. are now required to modify their existing emergency intercommunications systems to allow nonverbal communication with persons having a communicative disability.
Before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the emergency response services comprises made no provision to answer any telephone summons not made orally. Since passage of the ADA, provision has been made by these companies for an emergency call, initiated by a TDD or PC/M, to be rerouted to a local relay service which then summons aid. In addition, all states have now provided for compliance with the requirements of the Act to provide access to public communications for persons with a communicative disability. However, the disabled person must still provide compatible facilities.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an emergency telecommunications device for the disabled which will increase the access of the impaired community to society and society's access to the impaired community. Another object of this invention is to provide an emergency telecommunications device for the disabled which eliminates the need for oral communications. A further object of this invention is to provide an emergency telecommunications device for the disabled which is easily installed on, and makes use of, existing communications systems. It is also an object of this invention to provide an emergency telecommunications device for the disabled which facilitates emergency communications by permitting external access and activation of the communications device by TDD or PC/M or telephone. Yet another object of this invention is to provide an emergency telecommunications device for the disabled which eliminates the need for mirror facilities, as well as the specialized and costly maintenance requirements of TDDs and PC/Ms. Furthermore, it is an object of this invention to provide an emergency telecommunications device for the disabled which facilitates prior storage of messages and information (i.e. emergency, room service or maintenance) so as to ease and accelerate the use of the device by the disabled. It is also an object of this invention to provide an emergency telecommunications device for the disabled which, in elevator applications, permits two-way communication for the interchange of emergency information, with a communications point outside the hoistway. And it is an object of this invention to provide an emergency telecommunications device for the disabled which minimizes wear, tear, theft and vandalism to the device.